Double Standard
by thelittleturtleduck
Summary: There was a reoccurring fight that plagued the Avatar's family. It was an argument that couldn't be squashed with mere words. It was an argument that just wouldn't disappear.


A/n: I have already written a piece like this, but I wanted to give it another try. I feel like this argument would be a repeated one. As much as I hate to think of Aang and Katara possibly showing any favoritism, I can't deny that with the way their family was set up, their may have been some. Oh, and don't be fooled! I think Bumi was the happy-go-lucky wild child, but I believe there had to be some angst buried beneath his rough exterior. Thanks for reading! Please review! God bless!

Disclaimer: I don't own "The Legend of Korra."

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"Tenzin, grow up!"

Kya cringed at the tone of voice her brother was using to address their younger brother. The frizzy haired boy stood a mere three feet away from the young airbender, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Bumi, leave me alone."

The elder boy moaned exasperatedly, pulling at his hair with strong, tanned hands, "It's not me that's the issue here, you haven't left any of us alone since you were born!"

Their sister raised her brow at this. Bumi was being his usual overdramatic self, just as he had been for the past eleven years of his life. The fourteen year old sat on the steps in front of where the two boys argued, Tenzin trying to head to the meditation pavillion, Bumi blocking his way every step. The little bald boy was beginning to go red in the face and Kya didn't blame him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Tenzin yelled, finally reaching his boiling point. For a nine year old, the child really did have quite the temper.

"What is going on here?"

Turning around, the siblings were greeted by the sight of their parents walking down the outdoor corridor to where they now stood. Avatar Aang had a confused look on his face, having heard all the shouting from inside, while his wife had an annoyed expression on her features.

The waterbender squeezed his hand firmly when they reached their children, cerulean eyes looking suspiciously at her sons, "Boys, what's going on?"

Tenzin huffed and stamped his foot in frustration, causing Kya to smile a bit at how comical his tantrum was beginning to look, "Bumi won't move out of my way!"

Bumi crossed his arms and turned his head the other way, muttering under his breath, "Well you won't get out of my life."

"Whoa," Aang walked down the steps, narrowly missing his daughter who sat there, and stood between the feuding brothers, "What spurred this on?"

The eldest brother was the first to speak as Tenzin continued to fume on his father's other side, "What's it always about, Pops?"

The Avatar's brow rose slightly as he spoke with caution, "Who's going to be the one cleaning Appa's stable?"

Bumi rolled his eyes, "I don't think we have ever even fought over that."

"Well, than what's it about."

When both brothers refused to answer, the Avatar's stormy grey eyes turned to where his daughter sat on the steps, his wife now sitting next to her.

"Kya?"

"Yes, Daddy?"

"What's going on?"

The young waterbender heaved a heavy sigh, shaking her head slightly, "Just the weekly fight over Tenzin's favoritism."

Aang groaned loudly, "This again?"

Bumi's arms tightened in their crossed position as he angled his face away from his father, looking down at the dirt on the ground. Tenzin merely peered around his father and glared at his older brother, still frusterated by his earlier comments.

"He started it," The airbender muttered.

This caught Bumi's attention. The young boy suddenly sprung to life and lunged for his brother, their father hardly able to catch him before he reached the younger boy. Clawing at the air, legs kicking behind him, the dark haired child fought against his father's grip.

"Come here, Cueball!"

Katara, now standing, grabbed Tenzin by the shoulders and shifted him behind her body.

"Oh yeah, hide behind Mommy!"

The Avatar forced his son into a standing position, still holding on to him tightly. Putting his back to his wife and younger son, Aang switched his grip to the boy's shoulders.

"Bumi, stop! What has gotten into you?!"

His son continued to struggle for a few more moments before he realized it was a futile effort. Slowly, he began to stop fighting against the hold of his father until he was standing as stiff as a pole.

But with the stillness, came a new emotion. Betrayal. The Avatar looked down at his son with a disapproving gaze, but soon was shocked to see what he saw there.

Bumi had tears in his eyes.

"It's just not fair," The boy muttered quietly, wiping angrily at the tears that escaped the confines of his light eyes, "It's just not fair that he sneezes one day and is suddenly one of the most valuable people in the world."

Aang sighed deeply, his hands shaking a bit from the tone his son had used. So vulnerable, so defeated. Kneeling down so that he was eye level with the boy, the Avatar ran a palm through his child's dark locks, "Bumi, I've told you this a thousand times, and it looks like I'm going to have to keep on telling a thousand more. Your mother and I love you just as much as we love your brother and sister. This family wouldn't be the same without you. You are valuable."

Instead of falling into his father's embrace like he usually did, the fiery child instead took advantage of the man's weak hold and jerked his shoulders from his grasp.

"You sure have a funny way of showing that."

Aang's brows furrowed as he gave his son a questioning glance, "What?"

"You have a funny way of showing I have value," The boy clarified bitterly, "You have a funny way of showing that anyone but Tenzin is even worth your time."

"Bumi!" It was Katara's turn to reprimand the young child, her mouth open in disbelief as her face began turning red in frustration towards her son's attitude, "You apologize to your father now!"

"Why?!" Bumi shouted back at his mother, causing her brows to raise to her hairline in shock, "So that you two can keep on treating me like this?!"

"Treating you like what, Bumi?!"

"Like I don't exist!" The boy was becoming more and more frustrated at his parents and their lack of understanding when it came to his situation, "You don't even realize that you're doing it!"

"What are we doing?!"

"You missed it!" Bumi's voice reached its peak as he screeched the words at his mother before his shoulders slumped forward, "You missed it, okay?"

Aang's face was scrunched in confusion as he stood from his kneeling position, "What did we miss?"

The boy sighed deeply, angry tears pouring down the sides of his tanned cheeks, "My sparring match."

Aang's eyes grew wide, his palm coming up to slap against his tattoed forehead, "That was today?!"

Bumi looked at the ground, his silence being his only answer.

"Bumi," His father murmured, remorse evident in his words, "I'm sorry. I really am. We just forgot. I had so much going on at the council yesterday and I didn't even come home until the sun was up this morning. It just slipped my mind."

His son shrugged his shoulders, "That's always the excuse."

His mother stepped forward, Tenzin still peering around her, "Bumi, you know your father is a busy man."

"See that's the thing," Bumi's eyes looked up accusingly at his father's pained expression, "When I got home from the match, you were messing around with Tenzin and airbending. Thought you said you had a lot on your mind, Pops? I thought you were busy?"

"Bumi - "

"But you weren't too busy for him," The child whispered quietly, shaking his head as his glare returned to the ground, "You never are."

"That is the first match I have ever missed of your's"

Bumi released a bitter laugh, looking up at his father, "No it's not. You've missed plenty. I just haven't told you till now. You're right, you are a busy man. I understand that, or I did understand that. But now what I'm thinking is that there is a double standard being shown around here."

Aang shook his head, huffing in frustration at his son's accusations, "Bumi, that isn't true. I just forgot."

"You mean like how you forgot Kya's art gallery last week?"

A short gasp was heard as the girl sitting on the steps eyes opened wide. Everyone's heads turned to her as she glared at her younger brother.

"Bumi, I told you not to mention that!"

"Well it happened!"

The Avatar and his wife shared a look before Aang spoke quietly to his daughter, "Did we really miss the art gallery?"

Kya's mouth opened unsurely as she tried to think of something to say that wouldn't arouse another conflict. But the look on her brother's face said that conflict was now unavoidable. Closing her lips, the Avatar's daughter simply nodded, blue eyes glaring pointedly at her boots.

"Why don't you tell them why they missed it?"

"Bumi!"

"Tell them, Kya!"

The girl stood, ready to walk up the steps and leave before she felt a gentle hand grab her arm and swiftly turn her around. It was her mother.

"Kya," She murmured softly, their matching cerulean eyes locking as the older waterbender asked her quietly, "Why did we miss it?"

The young teenager looked down, remorse already filling her as she forced the words out from within, "It was the day before Dad left for his trip to the Fire Nation. He had to teach Tenzin a combination so that he could practice it while he was gone."

Aang looked up at his sad daughter, "Why didn't you tell me your art gallery was that night?"

Her gaze met his.

"I did."

Bumi spoke up now, "See? There is a double standard. The sad part is, you don't even notice it."

The Avatar was finding it difficult to reign his temper in as he met eyes with his eldest son, "Bumi, I am sorry that I missed your sparring match, but that still does not give you any right to yell at your brother. For being disrespectful towards both your siblings and your mother and I, I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you. No sword practice for a month and no leaving the island except for school."

The boy shrugged, the tears long gone from his cheeks, "Whatever, it still doesn't change anything."

Stalking off, the child climbed the steps and walked down the corridor, his booted feet pounding on the surface of the wooden boards. Kya stood there for a moment before dejectedly following him. But she hadn't turned fast enough, her parents had seen the tears and pained expression on her face.

This argument wasn't a new one to Aang and Katara, but this fight had cut them far deeper than any of the previous ones. Perhaps it was because there was some truth held within Bumi's words?

The parents certainly loved all their children equally, but did they really show them the same level of value and attention?

Aang felt sorry for all of his children for being born within his family. He felt bad for Kya because he knew how much she longed to be an airbender like him, he felt bad for Bumi because he knew the child just wanted to be able to bend something, and he felt bad for Tenzin because of the extraordinary gift he had given him that was now being treated as if it were a curse.

The Avatar loved all his children, but he couldn't deny that they deserved better than him.


End file.
